I would eat the placenta, especially if I start bleeding again. Dh is grossed out at the mention of it though.

I don't think anyone here is talking about their own placenta though, that was gone 20 or 40 or more years ago. The placenta that you birth is not your organ any more then any other part of the child that you birth. The placenta is an organ of the child, not the mother. The embryo grows the placenta not the mom.

I was totally grossed out when I first learned of it some time ago. Now, having researched it a lot more, I plan to eat my dc's placenta (although I may have to overcome some serious contention from my dh! :LOL ). There was a really informative thread on another list recently - here is the link:

I've also heard that it is great for transitioning in menopause and I'm surprised it's not been mentioned here. Anyone heard of this?

I just asked my midwife about the placenta today.
She told me she had one client who at a birth with another midwife was advised to slice it thin, dehydrate it, crush it down to powder. Divide it in half. Use one half, by putting a pinch of it daily in water to drink. Save the other half in the freezer for use during menopause.
I'm shocked it would last that long, but *shrug* I think it'd be worth a shot!

I voted "no" because I didn't eat the placenta after any of my kids were born. I MIGHT consider it in the future, under certain conditions:

First of all, I would never cook it in my kosher pots or pans, or whirl it up in my kosher blender for smoothies! If I ate it at all, I would swallow a raw piece right after childbirth to prevent/treat hemoraging. I don't think I'd eat the whole thing- though maybe if somebody else could put it into capsules for me, I might do that.

I don't think I'd really "need it" though- I felt pretty good after my last birth, and didn't deal with depression until after AF returned.

I've seen pics of placentas, and I wondered just how you clean it? Just rinse it off in the sink?

it smells exactly the same as a newborn baby, before being washed. BUT, i've heard that it really stinks when you cook it or dehydrate it. I wouldn't know, I ate mine raw. I rinsed it under the tap, but only because my baby had passed meconium during her birth.

I voted "no" because I didn't eat the placenta after any of my kids were born. I MIGHT consider it in the future, under certain conditions:

First of all, I would never cook it in my kosher pots or pans, or whirl it up in my kosher blender for smoothies! If I ate it at all, I would swallow a raw piece right after childbirth to prevent/treat hemoraging. I don't think I'd eat the whole thing- though maybe if somebody else could put it into capsules for me, I might do that.

I don't think I'd really "need it" though- I felt pretty good after my last birth, and didn't deal with depression until after AF returned.

Now I don't know a thing about staying kosher, but seriously.. placenta isn't kosher?

I never have, but I'll consider it for future deliveries. I'm on board intellectually but I've got a strong aversion to meat. I could look at a (cooked) hamburger and gag. I'm not sure how I'd handle a quivering slice of meat--even placenta--traveling towards my lips.

Homesteading Mama to homeschoolin' kiddos London (10) ; Alexander (8) :; Holden (5) :; and Sergei born at home 8/18/08

Well, ds#2 was born a week ago and I did it. My best friend cut two pieces of it, (both about tip of the thumb size)and I swallowed them whole. She then started the placenta tincture and dh finished that up after she had left. So far, no hormonal upheaval, very minimal bleeding, and only one night of night sweats! (As opposed to after ds#1's birth where I had them for 2 weeks!)

I'm so glad I found out about this and was able to research the practice and apply it. My dad even asked me if I'd thought about doing it when he came to visit this past weekend. His words, "We have a lot to kearn from our animal brethern" (he's a black angus farmer).

Yk, I was thinking about it, and I really think Andrea Yates wouldn't have done what she did if she'd eaten her placentas...I really don't...
Anyway, if I had a midwife to prepare it, I probably would, as long as I couldn't taste it...

I have never heard of the eating the placenta - I guess I am naive, but I do know that Andrea Yates was on multiple psychiatric medications for years and progressed to a much worse state than what I would call "PPD.' Having become completely psychotic within three days of starting Zoloft myself for post partum anxiety, it saddens me to even think of what Andrea Yates must have been going through on all those mind altering medicines that were supposed to be helping her. I will have to look into this placenta thing more!

I did not eat the placenta because that was just a little beyond my comfort level. I thought about it, but I just couldn't do it.

We birthed in a hospital (I am high-risk), and we just asked if we could have the placenta. They gave it to us in a big plastic sealed tub. They didn't even look at us funny, but that may be because we gave birth in a very crunchy town (Boulder, CO).

DD was born in fall. The following spring we took the placenta (we kept it in the freezer) and planted it under a tree in a national forest. DH, DD and I had a quiet ceremony at the tree. We immediately noticed that DD seemed more grounded.

We will never be able to find the exact spot again, which is fine with us. We wanted to connect her with her native land and I think the way we did it was perfect for us.

Since my milk took so long to come in after DD was born, I might eat just a small piece of the placenta for our next child. Maybe.

I plan on eating it. Not that it sounds so appealing to me, but after dealing with PPD twice, I want to do whatever I can to avoid it and rebound as fast as possible. Last time I spent months on a drug that cost my family $250/month, so it is a frugal thing as well... I can think of much more fun things to spend that money on! I plan on hiding it in a smoothie with strawberries and guzzling through a straw. I also plan on making some essence out of the rest of it.

Erika, mama to three beautiful kids (plus one gestating), and wife to one fantastic man.

I voted in this poll way back before birthing dd, as I was planning to eat the placenta. Just wanted to update to say that I did, I cut it into 1 inch cubes and made a few smoothies out of them with frozen mixed berries, some pomegranate juice and some vanilla smoothie mix from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. It was delicious and I could not taste the placenta at all. I think it really helped me with my mental state, especially as I was dealing with some pretty serious postpartum physical complications.

I've been researching this for some time. the first time I'd heard about it was in Grey Forest Walt's birth story, and I thought it was just some 'flower child' back to nature kind of thing.

But the more I read about it, the more I'd try some after the birth. From what I've read, I'd only need to eat a small amount (dime size) uncooked to gain the benefits. I'd also read that it was even better to hold it under your tongue for a little bit before swallowing.

Its suppose to help pp bleeding & depression, so I'm going to definitely try it.